Edward Livingston

Edward Livingston (28 May 1764-23 May 1836) was a member of the US House of Representatives (DR-NY 2) from 4 March 1795 to 3 March 1801 (succeeding John Watts and preceding Samuel L. Mitchill), Mayor of New York City from 1801 to 1803 (succeeding Richard Varick and preceding DeWitt Clinton), a member of the House of Representatives (DR-LA 1) from 4 March 1823 to 3 March 1829 (succeeding Josiah S. Johnston and preceding Edward Douglass White Sr.), a US Senator from Louisiana from 4 March 1829 to 24 May 1831 (succeeding Charles Dominique Joseph Bouligny and preceding George A. Waggaman), and US Secretary of State from 24 May 1831 to 29 May 1833 (succeeding Martin Van Buren and preceding Louis McLane).

Biography
Edward Livingston was born in Clermont, Columbia County, New York in 1764, a member of the prestigious Livingston family. He became a lawyer in New York City in 1785, and he served in the US House of Representatives from 1795 to 1801 as a Democratic-Republican. From 1801 to 1803, he served as Mayor of New York City, displaying courage and energy in his efforts to prevent the spread of the yellow fever, with which he had become afflicted. In 1803, he was forced to resign after he fell into debt with the state due to financial mismanagement on the part of one of his aides, and he moved to New Orleans in 1804. He soon built a large law practice and paid back his debts in 1826. In 1825, Louisiana adopted his proposed civil code. He went on to serve in the US House of Representatives from 1823 to 1829, in the US Senate from 1829 to 1831, and as Secretary of State from 1831 to 1833, becoming one of President Andrew Jackson's most trusted advisors. His last position was ambassador to France from 1833 to 1835, and he was forced to return home after France refused to pay the Americans for French spoilations of American shipping during the Napoleonic Wars. Livingston died in 1836.